


Four Things Katniss Didn't Know About Johanna (And One Thing She Kind Of Figured)

by Lysippe



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-21
Updated: 2015-11-21
Packaged: 2018-05-02 15:42:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5253839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lysippe/pseuds/Lysippe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Sort of set as a companion/sequel piece to my fic Imposible, but I feel like this works okay on its own if you just understand that Katniss moved to District 7 post-series and got with Johanna.</p>
    </blockquote>





	Four Things Katniss Didn't Know About Johanna (And One Thing She Kind Of Figured)

**Author's Note:**

> Sort of set as a companion/sequel piece to my fic Imposible, but I feel like this works okay on its own if you just understand that Katniss moved to District 7 post-series and got with Johanna.

** 1.  **

The first thing Katniss noticed was how much Johanna loved District 7. It was stronger than the twinge of loss and longing for the forests of District 12 that Katniss felt every now and then. Because Katniss had needed to leave her home, no matter how much she loved it. Johanna, on the other hand, couldn’t stay away from hers, even though it hurt. And hurt it did. Despite suffering the same massive casualties as the other districts, District 7’s infrastructure had escaped relatively unscathed, and sometimes when they walked through the town, Johanna would point out some fixture of her childhood, often with an amusing tale of how she had managed to get herself into trouble there. 

There was the school she had attended as a child where she had gotten into trouble for punching a boy who pulled her hair; her grandfather’s carpentry shop where she had once flung a knife across the room after cutting through the piece of wood she was carving; and Katniss’ personal favorite, the log cabin on the outskirts of town where Johanna had grown up, and claimed to have once set on fire because she had neglected to watch the stove. Katniss wasn’t quite sure she believed that last bit, though - she had a sneaking suspicion that Johanna was just trying to scare her into doing all the cooking. 

She always had the same cocksure, slightly self-abasing grin on her face when she spoke of these places, but sometimes when she thought Katniss wasn’t looking, the sadness at everything she had lost crept through. Katniss only made the mistake of pointing it out once. Johanna had rolled her eyes and said, “God, brainless, it’s just a building,” and proceeded to not say a word to her for the next six hours.

 

** 2.  **

Johanna had never truly overcome her fear of water. She had made progress, and would now acquiesce to taking regular baths, but only in response to Katniss’ steadfast refusal to share a bed with her otherwise.

It was something Katniss hadn’t really given much thought to it until the first time it rained. She had accompanied Johanna into the woods to gather firewood, having balked at the idea of spending the entire day cleaning up what she was positive was at least 90% Johanna’s mess. Their conversation had been downright jovial by their standards, and neither of them had seen the clouds rolling in until the first drops of rain started to come down.

It was a light shower, and Katniss hadn’t even noticed the droplets that caught in her hair. She had, however, noticed Johanna begin to tremble slightly, white-knuckled hands gripping her axe like a lifeline. 

“Johanna?” she asked quietly. “What’s wrong?”

Johana jerked her head skyward in response, and it was only when Katniss lifted her face to the sky that she felt the rain. Momentary panic settled in Katniss’ stomach as the realization hit and she tried to figure out what to do. She had been caught out in rainstorms before in District 12, but they were fairly deep into the woods, and she still wasn’t confident in her ability to navigate them, so their chances of getting home while Johanna was in a state seemed rather poor.

But just as she was about to suggest that they head back, she felt Johanna’s hand grasping her bicep firmly and dragging her under a giant tree that she had apparently decided would provide tolerable shelter for the time being. 

“It’ll pass soon,” Johanna ground out through clenched teeth. “These storms always do.”

Not seeing any better options, Katniss decided to trust Johanna’s judgment, wrapping an arm around her trembling frame and pulling her close.

“You don’t have to be brave for me, you know,” Katniss murmured. “It’s okay to be afraid.”

At this, Johanna’s head shot up and a tiny amount of the fire Katniss was used to seeing in her returned to her eyes. “It’s  _not_ okay,” she said fiercely. “If it were a wild animal or an earthquake or someone hunting me down, it would be okay. But it is  _not_  okay to be afraid of a little fucking rain.”

“It is for you,” Katniss said. “After the Capitol… I mean, no one thinks any less of you for it.”

“ _I_ think less of me!” Johanna shouted. “I don’t give a shit what other people think about it, but I hate that I’m so fucking  _weak_.” 

“Well, I don’t,” Katniss said firmly. “Being afraid of one thing doesn’t make you weak, no matter what it is. And I happen to think you’re one of the strongest people I know. So, there.”

“Coming from someone whose nickname is brainless, that doesn’t reassure me much,” Johanna grumbled, but let it go. They sat out the remainder of the storm in silence under the tree, Katniss watching the rain trickle down and Johanna carefully studying the small patch of dry ground surrounding them.

As Johanna predicted, the rain only lasted about fifteen minutes. The moment she saw a hint of clear blue between the clouds, Johanna stood abruptly, pulling Katniss up with her. 

“Let’s go home,” she said, looking straight ahead, her tone brooking no argument.

“Yeah. Home sounds good,” Katniss said, placing her hand in Johanna’s and giving it a small squeeze.

 

** 3.  **

Johanna, it turned out, was all but impossible to domesticate. Having lived with her before, Katniss had figured that she more or less had a grasp on what it would be like. She couldn’t have been more wrong. What she had failed to take into consideration was that a traumatized, drugged-up Johanna Mason without a single possession to call her own was a far cry from the woman she was dealing with now.

Even in her home, Johanna had relatively few possessions, barely more than what she needed. But she seemed bound and determined that  _every single one_ of them should live on the living room floor.

“Easy access,” she had shrugged the first time Katniss brought it up.

The second time Katniss mentioned it, Johanna had grumbled and sulked, but cleared the clothes from the floor and the dishes from the sink anyway. She had even cleaned the muddy bootprints off the floor, before turning to Katniss with a glare that Katniss didn’t fully buy and saying, “Better?”

“Much,” Katniss had responded.

And it was. But a week later it was back to where it was, with muddy floors and dirty dishes and clothing everywhere, and Katniss realized that this was going to be a long-lasting uphill battle that she probably wasn’t going to win.

 

** 4.  **

It had never occurred to Katniss that Johanna Mason, who made a point of being as overtly badass as she possibly could, might turn out to be a cold wimp. The idea of it was so absurd that the first time she heard Johanna’s tirade against the entire winter season, she wasn’t entirely convinced she hadn’t dreamed it.

“Winter is a stupid season,” Johanna had started sullenly, placing another log on the fire and holding her hands to the flames.

“What’s so bad about it?” Katniss had asked, not realizing that prompting this particular train of thought would turn out to be a monumental mistake.

“Everything!  _Everything_ is so bad about it! It’s fucking freezing all the time and you’re just cooped up inside, and when you do have to go out, you’re miserable and cold and everything about it just sucks!” 

Katniss was momentarily taken aback by the passion with which Johanna apparently loathed the poor season. Winters in District 12 were much worse than they were here, both colder and snowier, but Katniss had a feeling that mentioning that might be unwise.

“I don’t know,” she said slowly. “I’ve always liked winter. It’s not too hot like summer, and it’s always nice to sit by the fire with a hot cup of tea in the evening.”

“You’re crazy.”

“No, I’m not. Just because I like something you don’t-” Katniss’ indignance was cut short by Johanna tugging persistently at her arm, trying to pull her down to the ground.

“Get over here, brainless. I’m freezing.”

Recognizing the futility of the conversation, Katniss smiled and moved, bringing the blanket from the couch down with her and wrapping them in it. “But surely this is a bright side?”

Johanna didn’t respond for a moment, and just when Katniss thought she wasn’t going to, she said, “Fine. But winter is still a stupid season.”

 

** 5. **

Katniss had been in District 7 for almost a month before Johanna had finally consented to talk to her about Finnick. She wasn’t sure how she had thought the conversation would play out, but it did not meet her expectations. She knew that Johanna and Finnick had been close, and that other than Annie, no one had been more hurt by his death. But she hadn’t been in any way prepared for the amount of pain Johanna had been keeping inside, and far from the passionate anger or crushing sorrow Katniss usually associated with grief, the numbness Johanna projected threw her for a loop.

“He was my best friend. Hell, he was my only friend,” she had said without provocation one night. “No one wanted anything to do with me after my games. No one from home and none of the victors. Apparently the way I won didn’t go down well with a lot of people.”

“I’m sorry,” Katniss had said, knowing how pathetic and stupid and unhelpful it sounded, but having no idea what else to say.

“I thought we might, you know. End up together or something. Two fucked up broken kids from opposing districts who only saw each other once a year. Seemed fitting, you know? That was before Annie, of course. Just as well, though. I couldn’t take that much of his stupid smug face anyway.”

That was when Katniss had realized that Johanna didn’t mourn like other people, and that any appropriate responses she might have had probably wouldn’t be much good in this situation. That made her feel a little better about her complete inability to deal with anyone’s emotions, and she placed a hand tentatively on Johanna’s upper arm, offering as much comfort as Johanna wanted, but only as much as she chose to take.

“It just sucks, you know? Like, there were hundreds of people who could have died and I wouldn’t have cared, but it had to be him. It just fucking had to be him.” She buried her head into Katniss’ shoulder, not crying, just seeking the warmth and comfort of another person who understood, even if she didn’t know how to show it.

“Guess that makes you my best friend now, brainless.” Suddenly the caustic half-smile returned, leaving Katniss with no doubt that the conversation had ended as suddenly as it started, and that the Johanna she knew how to deal with was back. “That should be interesting.”


End file.
